Lighting the Advent Candles

The Advent wreath is a symbol that we are well acquainted with at St. Mark’s.  Each year we can be sure that it will appear in its designated place with the correct amount of candles in the proper colors.  Many of us remember seeing Advent wreaths our entire lives and so we suppose the symbol’s origins to be shrouded in ancient secrecy, perhaps even something to be taken for granted – but just how ancient is the wreath?

According to Wikipedia, the symbol is not as ancient as we might think.  The evergreen wreath itself is ancient since we know it was used in northern Europe long before the arrival of Christianity. The circle told of the cycle of seasons while the pine boughs spoke of the persistence of life through difficult winters.

Somewhere along the way, it was reinterpreted as a Christian symbol.  Candles were not added to form the Advent wreath we know until the 16^th century.  Wikipedia credits Lutherans with establishing the tradition, but not everything you read on the internet is true!  The article goes on to say that Advent wreaths didn’t appear in American churches until the 1930’s.

This year the Advent wreath at St. Mark’s will take on a different appearance all together.  The wreath will include us inside its circle.  We are using the festival stands appropriately adorned with advent colors and symbols.  Evan H. will be in charge of this work.  The lighting ritual will include the reading of the gospel and the singing of an Advent song by Daniel E. Schwandt – “Many Will Come.”  This is an unpublished piece which the composer has granted us permission to use. Schwandt is the Cantor at Augustana Lutheran Church (Hyde Park, Illinois) and the Staff Musician at Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.

Whatever form the wreath takes, Advent’s two-fold message is a powerful one for Christians: Christ has come and he is coming again!